When six heroes stood together amid the wreckage of New York in The Avengers in 2012, the moment lasted only seconds. Yet that famous circular shot became one of the defining images of modern blockbuster cinema.

Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man. Chris Evans’ Captain America. Chris Hemsworth’s Thor. Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow. Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk. Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye.

They were Marvel’s original on-screen Avengers — six actors whose careers and characters would become intertwined with a franchise that grew far beyond anyone’s expectations.

Marvel itself still refers to the group as the “original Avengers,” and their years together ultimately carried the Marvel Cinematic Universe through Age of Ultron, Infinity War and the enormous conclusion of the Infinity Saga, Avengers: Endgame.

Fourteen years after that first team-up, their paths look remarkably different. Some have returned to Marvel in surprising ways. Some are still carrying their original characters forward. One has firmly argued that her hero’s ending should remain untouched. Another survived an ordeal far more frightening than anything Hawkeye faced on screen.

Robert Downey Jr.: From the Man Who Started the MCU to Marvel’s New Villain

No member of the original team was more closely connected to the birth of the MCU than Robert Downey Jr.

Tony Stark’s journey began with Iron Man in 2008, four years before the Avengers assembled. By Endgame in 2019, Stark had become the emotional center of a 22-film story, sacrificing himself in the final battle against Thanos.

For years, that appeared to be Downey’s definitive Marvel farewell.

Instead, Marvel found perhaps the most unexpected way possible to bring him back.

Downey is returning to the MCU as Doctor Doom rather than Tony Stark, placing the actor who once embodied Marvel’s greatest hero on the opposite side of the conflict in Avengers: Doomsday. The movie is scheduled to reach theaters on Dec. 18, 2026, with Downey also listed for Avengers: Secret Wars in 2027.

And in another twist, Downey will also reprise Iron Man for Disney’s upcoming Avengers-themed attractions, meaning both Tony Stark and Doctor Doom remain part of his Marvel future — though in very different forms.

Chris Evans: Captain America’s Ending Wasn’t Quite the End

Chris Evans entered the Avengers lineup as Steve Rogers, the World War II soldier who awakened in a modern world he barely recognized.

Over the following films, Steve evolved from an obedient symbol of American idealism into a man willing to challenge institutions, protect his friends and eventually choose a personal life for himself.

His departure in Endgame seemed unusually peaceful by superhero standards. After returning the Infinity Stones, Steve remained in the past, grew old and eventually passed the Captain America shield to Sam Wilson.

For several years, Evans stayed away from Steve Rogers, briefly returning to Marvel instead as Johnny Storm in 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine.

That separation is now over.

Marvel has confirmed that Steve Rogers will return in Avengers: Doomsday. Evans has since discussed the character’s difficult new storyline and his excitement about working again with directors Anthony and Joe Russo.

Off screen, Evans has also entered a very different chapter. He married actress Alba Baptista in 2023 and became a father in 2025, later saying parenthood had shifted how he thinks about leaving home for work.

Chris Hemsworth: Thor Is Still Standing

Of the original six, Chris Hemsworth has enjoyed perhaps the clearest continuity.

Thor began as an arrogant prince in 2011, lost his hammer, his parents, his brother, his home and many of his closest allies, and somehow remained standing through all four Avengers films.

Unlike Iron Man or Black Widow, he survived Endgame. Unlike Steve Rogers, he did not retire.

Hemsworth went on to headline Thor: Love and Thunder in 2022 and is returning once again in Avengers: Doomsday. Marvel’s promotional material has explicitly confirmed Thor’s presence, extending a character run that began 15 years earlier.

That longevity makes Hemsworth unusual even among superhero stars. The young Australian actor who first picked up Mjolnir in his 20s has now spent a substantial part of his adult life playing the same character.

Scarlett Johansson: Protecting Black Widow’s Final Sacrifice

Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff had no armor, super-soldier serum or magical weapon when she joined the Avengers.

That was part of what made her distinctive.

Introduced in Iron Man 2, Black Widow eventually became one of the team’s emotional anchors. Her story ended tragically in Endgame when Natasha sacrificed herself on Vormir so the surviving Avengers could obtain the Soul Stone.

Johansson returned for 2021’s Black Widow, but because the movie took place earlier in the MCU timeline, it did not reverse Natasha’s death.

And Johansson has been unusually firm about keeping it that way. In 2025 she pushed back on speculation about another return, arguing that Natasha’s sacrifice should retain its meaning and that the character deserved to keep her heroic ending.

Meanwhile, Johansson has expanded far beyond Marvel. She starred in Jurassic World Rebirth and made her feature directing debut with Eleanor the Great, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2025.

Her post-Avengers chapter has therefore become less about resurrecting Natasha and more about moving into new creative territory.

Mark Ruffalo: The Hulk Who Outlasted Almost Everyone

Mark Ruffalo joined the MCU under unusual circumstances.

Bruce Banner had already appeared on screen in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, played by Edward Norton. Ruffalo took over the character for The Avengers in 2012 and quickly made the role his own.

His version of Banner went through one of Marvel’s strangest transformations — from a scientist constantly afraid of his other half to the combined “Smart Hulk” seen in Endgame.

And Ruffalo’s connection to the MCU has continued.

After appearances in projects including Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, he returned as Bruce Banner/Hulk in 2026’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day, once again placing one of the original Avengers alongside a newer generation of Marvel characters.

Fourteen years after first telling Captain America that he was “always angry,” Ruffalo remains part of Marvel’s evolving universe.

Jeremy Renner: Hawkeye’s Most Extraordinary Battle Happened Off Screen

Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton was always the most grounded of the six.

He was a husband, a father and a highly trained human surrounded by gods, monsters and armored billionaires. That vulnerability became especially important in Endgame, where Hawkeye and Black Widow’s friendship led to one of the film’s most painful moments.

Renner later received his own Disney+ series, Hawkeye, in 2021.

Then his life changed dramatically on Jan. 1, 2023.

Renner was critically injured in a snowplow accident near his Nevada home while trying to protect his nephew. He suffered dozens of broken bones along with severe internal injuries and faced a long rehabilitation.

His recovery became a story larger than his Marvel career.

Renner eventually returned to acting and has repeatedly said he remains open to playing Hawkeye again. In 2025, he expressed confidence that another season of Hawkeye could still happen.

Six Actors, One Era That Marvel Still Hasn’t Fully Left Behind

The finality of Avengers: Endgame once made it seem that Marvel was closing the book on its founding team.

Instead, the years since have produced something more complicated.

Black Widow remains dead. Tony Stark’s sacrifice remains intact, yet Downey is back as an entirely different character. Steve Rogers is returning after what appeared to be retirement. Thor continues fighting. Hulk keeps reappearing in unexpected corners of the MCU. Hawkeye’s future remains open as Renner continues a remarkable personal recovery.

The original Avengers are no longer one functioning team.

But Marvel has never truly escaped their gravity.

The franchise has introduced dozens of heroes since 2012, yet the sight of those first six together still represents the moment the MCU became something bigger than a collection of individual superhero movies.

Fourteen years later, their costumes have changed, their lives have changed and Marvel itself has changed.

But the team that first assembled in New York is still shaping what comes next.